My Love's Beauty

"A poetic of love in two parts"

I

My love's beauty rests

Inside her,

Her heart and soul

Shine through,

They overwhelm

Whatever beauty

Might beholden

Upon her face.

Her mind itself

Calls out to all who

Know her,

Delighting those whose hearts

She touches,

No one can capture her,

But if you're patient

She may come to you,

And bring to you

Delight.

II

To be with her

Is like unto

A field of

Fresh flowers,

To hear her voice,

Makes it seem

Those flowers have

Given off a heavenly

Bouquet,

She can make an ord'n'ry day

Into a feast

For the mind and soul,

And so heal

The heart.

On Cemeteries

Scatter my ashes upon the sea,

Leave not a single monument to me,

For whatever I was since the day of my birth,

Can't rest under a stone,

Covered with earth.

Facebook post, 3 Sep 2011 for Drew Kullman 

Are Earthquakes Metaphors?

Time was,
We looked for signs,
But now we have More confidence,
We are the masters of our fate,
(We're sure of that)
And so,
The signs and summonses
Of the gods,
They are no more,
Our conduct is our business,
But,
Pride still cometh,
Before the fall,
The rumble of the earthquake
Passing through our midst,
May have been the sound
Of that great plumb line,
Rumbling down from up above.
As God once told the prophet Amos,
“I will set a plumb line in the midst...”
And so the time
May just have come,
When cruelty and repression,
Are due to be replaced,
By new masters,
Who will build the world anew,
Not necessarily from scratch,
But with sensibility,
A touch of brotherhood,
And sisterhood,
And common sense,
(If we can find some),
And a heavy dose of love,
It's not too late to start,
But why wait 'til the time
Of the next quake?

Haiku on Aftershocks

Should aftershocks shock?
We're still standing, are we not?
Smile, and hug your cat.

Another Earthquake?

Two quakes,
In a year,
Then
Two quakes,
In two days,
Spare me
The after shocks,
I'm losing the feel,
For the meaning of
Solid Ground.

The Earth Moved

The earth moved,
Yes it did,
No warning,
There should have been
Prior notice,
We have an early warning system,
To wit:
FRED,
Feline,
Reliable
Earthquake
Detector,
He worked flawlessly
Last year,
This time he was out,
On walk-about,
Rumor is,
He wants a raise,
Union cat,
I guess.

Jerusalem - The Western Wall

Thursday. 18 August 2011

Is it the center of the universe?
Only for Jews and Muslims,
Once it was imposing,
Even after Herod's temple
Was destroyed,
Now,
It stands,
An artifact,
Dwarfed,
Twice surmounted,
First by twin
Triumphal mosques,
Then,
Later,
By post war buildings,
Gazing over all,
Dwarfing the lot,
Standing guard,
As if to say,
We won,
We aren't giving it back,
Most strangely,
The Wall's custodians,
Could not have been
Those who captured it,
They refuse to serve,
But their black hats,
Hold a grip
On what happens,

Keeping men and women
Separate,
The nicer part,
Of course,
Is for men
Only,
Touch the wall,
Smooth as silk,
Worn that way,
By the touch
Of human hands,
Any peace you find here,
You find by chance,
On Fridays,
Muslims
Toss stones from
Atop the wall,
They want it all,
Let no one else
Have any claim,
Some really nutty Jews
Would just as soon
Destroy the mosques,
Rebuild the temple,
As it was,
We have no shortage
Of determined folk,
Folk hanging 'round
To work their will
Upon the wall
And its environs,
It's curious,
There may be,
Religions of peace,
But some religions,
Still aren't fully,
At Peace.
May that Day,
Somehow come,
Say a prayer for those
Who've died
Over the wall,
And for the cynics,
Who won't make peace
Over it.